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Google said its GFiber unit is combing with Astound Broadband and forming a independent fiber provider. View More

In this articleGOOGLFollow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT A technician gets cabling out of his truck to install Google Fiber.George Frey | Reuters Google said its fiber internet unit called GFiber is combining with Astound Broadband and forming an independent provider, with Google remaining as a minority shareholder. The new company will be majority owned by investment firm Stonepeak and led by the existing GFiber executive team, "utilizing their expertise in high-speed fiber innovation to manage the combined network footprint," Google said in a press release on Wednesday. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter. Google Fiber, launched in 2010, was an early effort by Google to build ultra-fast fiber-optic broadband networks in the U.S., starting with a gigabit-speed rollout in Kansas City in 2012. Google proposed building gigabit fiber connections to homes, far faster than typical U.S. internet speeds at the time.Since then, some planned expansions were canceled and the company focused on select markets rather than a costly and time-intensive nationwide rollout.The spinout comes as Google puts the division on the path to financial independence at a time when demand is growing for high-capacity networks fueled by demand in artificial intelligence services. The external capital will help it expand across the country, the company said. "This partnership with Astound and Stonepeak is the next step in our decade-long mission to redefine what customers can expect from their internet provider," GFiber CEO Dinni Jain said in the release. GFiber has been part of Google's "Other Bets" segment, which includes non-core assets such as the Waymo robotaxi division and drug discovery business Isomorphic Labs. In 2025, the combined segment generated $1.54 billion in revenue, or less than 0.5% of Alphabet's total sales, and recorded an operating loss of $16.8 billion.The shift toward fiber infrastructure has become increasingly important as demand grows for high-capacity networks to support cloud computing, streaming, and emerging AI services. U.S. tech giants are also rolling out a rapidly expanding network of transcontinental subsea cables, seeking to keep pace with growing bandwidth demand.Astound is a major U.S. cable operator and broadband platform, which was acquired by Stonepeak in 2021 for $8.1 billion. Stonepeak specializes in infrastructure and real estate. A Google spokesperson didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. WATCH: Google's capacity advantage watch nowVIDEO4:2304:23Google has the capacity advantage to drive upside over Street estimates: Wells Fargo's Ken GawrelskiPower Lunch Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.

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Dubai has enacted a stringent new law to regulate shared housing, imposing hefty fines up to Dh500,000 for violations and Dh1 million for repeat offenders. This move targets overcrowding and unsafe "bed-space" rentals, aiming to balance affordability with strict safety and quality standards in the booming property market. The regulation mandates permits for all shared accommodations, ensuring compliance and transparency. View More

Tech companies have funnelled billions of dollars into Middle East AI projects — the Iran war means questions will be asked about future investments View More

In this articleMSFTORCLNVDACSCOFollow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT watch nowVIDEO3:4603:46The Middle East was the next frontier for AI. Then war broke out.Tech Tech companies have been funnelling billions of dollars into AI infrastructure projects in the Middle East over the past few years, drawn in by cheap and readily available energy and land, alongside local government support.But the Iran war spilling over into neighbouring countries in the Middle East throws questions over the future of the data center and digital infrastructure buildout in the region, particularly if it becomes a prolonged conflict, experts told CNBC.Data centers have already been targeted. Iran's wave of retaliatory attacks hit AWS facilities in the UAE and Bahrain, causing banking, payments, enterprise and consumer services to experience outages.While the Iran war will likely not see hyperscalers walking away from existing AI infrastructure builds in the region, it could impact future investment in the case of drawn-out hostilities.There could be a "shift in where the next wave of capacity gets built," Patrick J. Murphy, executive director of the geopolitical unit at Hilco Global, told CNBC. "If geopolitical risk continues to rise in the Gulf, companies may accelerate projects in places like Northern Europe, India or Southeast Asia, where power supply, regulatory frameworks and security conditions are more predictable." watch nowVIDEO2:1102:11War threatens Middle East AI boom: Here's what to knowSquawk Box 'Targets for attack' The Middle East has fast become a key hub for tech companies looking to build out infrastructure to support the AI boom.A concerted push by governments in the region to attract international investment — and divest away from China to appease the U.S. administration — has borne fruit. Oracle, Nvidia and Cisco are all involved in OpenAI's AI campus in the UAE — dubbed Stargate — which, in collaboration with Emirati firm G42, will span 10 square miles and include a 5-gigawatt capacity. Saudi company Humain is pouring billions of dollars into AI infrastructure buildouts and Microsoft said it would invest $15 billion into the UAE by 2029.But security considerations around the facilities that power digital infrastructure in the region have come under scrutiny in the past week following attacks by Iran. Those strikes signal that data centers may now be "considered legitimate targets for attack in modern armed conflicts," Aalok Mehta, director at think tank the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "This will significantly change how companies think about data center security going forward."AI infrastructure firms will likely be making contingency plans because of the situation, he added. "Either by considering shifting to less vulnerable regions or by hardening current and future data centers with missile defense and counter-drone technology." Guests look at a model of the largest data center in the UAE under construction in Abu Dhabi as the Stargate initiative, a joint venture between G42, Microsoft, and OpenAI, during the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition & Conference (ADIPEC) in Abu Dhabi on November 3, 2025. (Photo by Giuseppe CACACE / AFP) (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images) Giuseppe Cacace | Afp | Getty Images Prolonged conflict There are still big draws for companies looking to build AI infrastructure in the Middle East."The region remains attractive to companies in terms of capital from sovereign wealth funds, government buy-in, available energy and its role as a gateway to markets in the global south," Tess deBlanc-Knowles, senior director at think tank Atlantic Council, told CNBC.Governments in the Middle East will also likely be racing to reassure U.S. companies and encourage them to maintain commitments in the region."The UAE sees AI buildout as critical to their future and is betting heavily on the technology," said Mehta. "It is investing many billions of dollars to support the AI transition and has also played a central role in facilitating many of the big AI infrastructure partnerships."Given the huge costs invested in already operational facilities, alongside the power contracts, land agreements and fiber connectivity, it's unlikely AI hyperscalers will look to relocate built capacity. "Data centers typically need to be located close to their customers to ensure low latency and reliable service," Tancrede Fulop, senior equity analyst at Morningstar, told CNBC. "Relocating or closing facilities could therefore lead to service-level agreement breaches and reputational risk."But scenario planning around the Iran war and its impact on the wider Middle East region will be weighing on investment committees and boards.Rather than exiting the region, companies could take steps to "hedge their investments," by slowing new capital deployments or pausing planned partnerships, deBlanc-Knowles said.Should the conflict persist or escalate, those hedges may transition into an "evaluation of alternative regional hubs to reduce exposure to sustained disruptions from a wider regional conflict," she added. The Iran war could cause digital infrastructure developer Pure Data Centre Group — which has operational data centers in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, and is planning further expansion in the Middle East — to "slow down" in the region, Gary Wojtaszek, chairman and interim chief executive officer at the company, told CNBC.Pointing to the energy and capital available in the Middle East, Wojtaszek said: "Up until the prior week, I would have been like, 'Hey this is awesome, right?' And now it's like, okay, well, maybe we'll slow down here.""But I do think that eventually the hostilities are going to settle down," he said, adding that "there's going to be a lot more focus on doing development there" in the future.Companies could start cost-benefit calculations to guide their future investment plans, said Mehta."They'll be asking questions like: How long might this war last? How much will new hardening measures cost? Are there any viable alternative sites for data center buildouts? How much delay would shifting to an alternative location cause?"Google and Microsoft declined to comment on how the Iran war was impacting its data center and AI infrastructure projects in the region. AWS, G42, Humain and OpenAI did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication. Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.

Shares of Micron have skyrocketed 370% over the past year, while Sandisk is up more than 1100%. View More

In this articleMUSNDKSTXHPEFollow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT watch nowVIDEO1:3401:34Memory makers see surge in AI demand as hyperscalers lock in long-term contractsClosing Bell The artificial intelligence spending blitz has the memory industry dancing to a new tune.Shares of Micron are up more than 370% over the past year, while Sandisk, which only listed in February of last year, is up more than 1100%.For decades, memory stocks were stuck in a trader's game, a boom-bust-repeat pattern, but executives now say that AI has structurally broken the old cycle, and prices are showing no signs of coming down."We will continue to raise prices because the industry will continue to raise prices," HPE CEO Antonio Neri told CNBC. "There is not enough supply for demand."An executive at hard drive maker Seagate told the South China Morning Post on Tuesday that memory price hikes are likely to become "the new normal" for the next few years. South Korea's SK Hynix, one of the biggest producers of memory in the world, told CNBC that the entire memory industry is undergoing structural change."The company's customers, including hyperscalers, have increasingly preferred long-term contracts over the one-year agreements that were more common in the past," a spokesperson said in a statement. Read more CNBC tech newsHow the Iran war and rising energy prices are threatening semiconductor demandKevin Mandia sold his cybersecurity company to Google in 2022. He has a fresh $190 million for a new ventureMusk's xAI wants to build a power plant in Mississippi. Regulators planned a key meeting on Election Day, 200 miles awayOracle is building yesterday's data centers with tomorrow's debt Micron told CNBC that customers are now more than willing to sign long-term supply agreements to lock-in memory for years. Broadcom CEO Hock Tan said on his company's earnings call last week that he's locked in supply all the way through 2028. Today's AI workloads require a fundamentally different and far more memory-intensive architecture than anything the industry was built to support before.Meta announced a new in-house AI chip on Wednesday and also noted concerns about access to the high-bandwidth memory it needs."We're absolutely worried about HBM supply," Meta Vice President of Engineering Yee Jiun Song told CNBC. "But we think that we have secured our supply for what we're planning to build out."As hyperscalers crowd out consumer supply and with no meaningful relief coming until 2027 at the earliest, the AI buildout may have pushed memory into a new era. watch nowVIDEO2:1802:18How ETF investors are keeping sight of their long-term objectives, amidst wild market swingsETF Edge Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.

President Donald Trump nominated Kevin Warsh to succeed Jerome Powell as Fed chair, but the process has been blocked amid a federal investigation into Powell. View More

watch nowVIDEO2:2302:23Lawmakers show resistance to Warsh's nomination to the Federal ReserveClosing Bell: Overtime Sen. Tim Scott on Wednesday said he hopes the federal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell "goes away" so the Senate can take up the nomination of Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump's pick to replace the head of the U.S. central bank."That proceeding going away allows for us to get the Fed fully functioning, back on target," Scott, who chairs the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, said during an appearance on CNBC's "Squawk Box." Read more CNBC politics coverageWhite House: ‘The U.S. Navy has not escorted a tanker or a vessel at this time’Iran war: Israel’s president Herzog calls ‘cost’ for business the price for Middle East peace‘Forever war’: Democrats rebut Trump’s assertion that Iran war nearing end Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., has vowed to hold up any Fed nominees until a federal criminal investigation into Powell is resolved. Trump floated the idea of firing Powell last year and lashed out at the Fed chair for refusing to cut interest rates to the extent he desired. Powell has denied any wrongdoing and has said he is being targeted for refusing to accede to Trump's demands. Powell, whose term as chair ends in May, was expected to testify before Congress on Feb. 11, but missed that date because of the federal probe, Scott said."I had a conversation with Jay about his testimony," Scott said. "I recommended that he come before the committee.""At this point he is more concerned about the criminal proceeding," he said. "And I get that."Congress can compel an elected official to testify, but the Banking Committee did not do that with Powell in this case.The Fed declined to comment on whether Powell refused to testify.Tillis is otherwise supportive of Warsh, who Trump nominated for the role in January, but doubled down on his blockade after meeting with the Fed nominee on Tuesday. "This is not about people, it's about process," Tillis said. "I think this is a foul.""This is about this is bedrock principle of Fed independence," Tillis told reporters Tuesday. "I have no earthly idea what the market reaction would have been if suddenly the perception is that the Fed chair serves at the pleasure of the president."Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., another Banking Committee member, told CNBC earlier Wednesday speculated that some Democrats could support Warsh's nomination."There's really no reason by anything from he's ever said or that he's done that, that Democrats shouldn't support his nomination," Cramer, who was scheduled to meet with Warsh on Wednesday, said. "They're going to be rigorous, of course, in their interviewing of him and and the cross examination ... when his hearing takes place. But I think we should be on track to get him across the finish line so that there's no gap between ... the end of Jay Powell's term and the beginning of the new term."Fellow Banking Committee member Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., said Wednesday he had met with Warsh and urged the Senate to confirm him promptly."President Trump's Federal Reserve Chairman Nominee Kevin Warsh understands the importance of bringing down high costs and interest rates for working families. He has the experience to get it done and the Senate should confirm him ASAP!" Banks said in a post on X that included a photograph of the senator and Warsh.The investigation into Powell is in part based on testimony Powell gave to the Senate Banking Committee last year. Scott has said in the past that he did not believe Powell committed a crime in his testimony, sentiment he repeated Wednesday. He said the Senate would begin confirmation hearings for Warsh "as soon as possible.""At the end of the day … when he was before the committee he definitely was unprepared," Scott said of Powell. "I think he was woefully unprepared. But he did not commit a criminal act when he was before the committee."— Steve Liesman contributed to this report. Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.

U.S. Treasury yields moved higher on Wednesday as assessed February's inflation report and monitored developments on the US-Iran war front. View More

In this articleUS2YUS10YUS30YTLTFollow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) at the opening bell on March 5, 2026 in New York City. Angela Weiss | Afp | Getty Images Treasury yields moved higher on Wednesday as investors weighed a sticky February inflation report and monitored moves in oil prices in the midst of the latest developments in the U.S.-Iran war.The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield rose more than 8 basis points to 4.222%. The 30-year Treasury bond yield added more than 9 basis points to 4.87%. The 2-year Treasury note yield advanced more than 7 basis points, reaching 3.644%.One basis point is equal to 0.01%, and yields and prices move in opposite directions. The consumer price index increased a seasonally adjusted 0.3% for the month, putting the 12-month inflation rate at 2.4%, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Wednesday. Both numbers matched the Dow Jones consensus forecast, and remained above the Federal Reserve's inflation target of 2% to reach price stability. "CPI printed in-line with consensus expectations for February, a ho-hum release that reflects the period before the escalation of military action in the Middle East that will lift inflation readings next month due to higher energy prices," said Josh Jamner, senior investment strategy analyst at ClearBridge Investments.The U.S.-Israel campaign against Iran began on Feb. 28, the last day of the month.Oil prices rose again on Wednesday despite the International Energy Agency agreeing to release 400 million barrels of oil — the largest release in the organization's history. Prices remaining higher suggests that investors anticipate the war may persist longer than anticipated. West Texas Intermediate futures advanced 4.55% to settle at $87.25 per barrel. Brent crude traded up 4.76% to settle at $91.98 per barrel.Other economic data due this week includes housing starts and weekly initial jobless claims on Thursday, and the personal consumption expenditures index — the Fed's preferred gauge of inflation — on Friday. Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.

The Iran conflict is disrupting fertilizer shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, raising supply concerns and potentially increasing global food inflation. View More

watch nowVIDEO2:0702:07Why the Strait of Hormuz standoff could mean smaller harvests, higher grocery billsCNBC Digital Original Video The war in Iran could raise global food prices as the conflict disrupts fertilizer shipments through one of the world's most critical trade routes. While energy markets have focused on oil supply risks, analysts say threats to fertilizer supply chains through the Strait of Hormuz may also bring long-term economic issues through food inflation. "Beyond energy, another risk receiving less attention is the potential knock-on effect on food prices, as fertilizer shortages push agricultural costs higher," said Wolfe Research chief economist Stephanie Roth in a note written on Tuesday. Roth estimates the disruption could raise "food-at-home" inflation by roughly 2 percentage points, adding about 0.15 percentage points to headline inflation in the U.S., on top of roughly 0.40 percentage point increase from energy.Those potential price hikes come as U.S. consumers face a sustained stretch of higher prices for food, housing and energy. Inflation for food at home climbed 2.4% year over year in February, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Wednesday. Customers shop at Walmart in Little Rock, Arkansas, Jan. 22, 2026.Will Newton | Getty Images More than one-third of globally traded fertilizer passes through the Strait of Hormuz, making it a critical artery for agricultural supply chains. Commercial traffic through the route has largely been halted since the war started late last month, disrupting shipments just as farmers across the Northern Hemisphere prepare fields for spring planting. The timing is critical because fertilizers are applied early in the crop cycle and help determine yields later in the year. "If fertilizer supply tightens during this window, farmers may reduce application rates," Roth said in the note. That could reduce yields for crops like corn, soybeans, wheat and rice, and increase agricultural costs.Economists in the fertilizer industry are equally concerned and say prices are already rising. Between the weeks ending Feb. 27 and March 6 — which encompass the start of the war — the price per short ton of urea fertilizer imports in the U.S. jumped by 30%, according to data collected by industry advocacy group The Fertilizer Institute.Urea — a nitrogen-based fertilizer widely used to boost crop yields — is one of the most heavily traded fertilizers moving through the region. Higher fertilizer prices for farmers and retailers could ultimately raise food costs for consumers if the trade disruption lasts, said Veronica Nigh, chief economist at The Fertilizer Institute."This is a global impact on fertilizer costs," said Nigh. "I would imagine that there would be much more passing on of these costs to consumers in this scenario, which is not something we have seen before."The U.S. relies on global fertilizer markets, importing roughly 20% of its total use, though nitrogen fertilizers like urea come from a more wide-ranging group of suppliers, including Canada, Trinidad and Tobago, Russia and elsewhere. The ripple effect could stretch around the world and beyond commodities. Asia and Africa are especially dependent on fertilizer exports from the Gulf region. Countries such as India rely heavily on Gulf supplies, while several African economies depend on imported materials used to produce fertilizers. While disruptions to fertilizer shipments could lower crop yields for farmers and raise costs for households, fertilizer producers could stand to benefit.CF Industries hit an all-time high Monday and shares are up nearly 10% over the past week, the company's biggest multiday gain since 2022.Correction: This story has been revised to reflect that the Iran conflict is disrupting fertilizer shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. A previous version misspelled the name of the body of water between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.

For the fiscal year to date, the deficit totaled $1.004 trillion, about 12% lower than the comparable period in 2025. View More

The U.S. Treasury Department building in Washington.Saul Loeb | Afp | Getty Images The U.S. budget deficit surpassed $1 trillion for the fiscal year through February but was sharply lower than the same period a year earlier, Treasury Department data showed Wednesday.Outlays exceeded receipts by $308 billion in February, roughly in line with the deficit recorded in the same month a year ago.For the fiscal year to date, the deficit totaled $1.004 trillion, about 12% lower than the comparable period in 2025, as government revenues rose faster than spending.Helping narrow the gap was a sharp increase in tariff collections. Customs duties totaled $151 billion through the first five months of the fiscal year, up about $113 billion, or 294%, from a year earlier.The recent Supreme Court decision striking down many of President Donald Trump's tariffs has not shown up in the data yet. Economists say that could reflect duties collected earlier still being processed, a possible surge in imports ahead of the ruling, and lingering questions over whether and to what extent the U.S. will need to issue refunds on tariffs already collected.Moreover, Trump has imposed additional tariffs since the decision that could continue to boost customs revenue.Corporate tax revenue also declined sharply, falling $27 billion, or 17%, from a year earlier. For the fiscal year to date, tariff revenues have actually exceeded corporate tax receipts, an unusual shift.Elevated interest rates also continued to weigh on the federal fiscal picture.Net interest payments on the nearly $39 trillion national debt totaled $79 billion in February, more than any category except Social Security, income security — which includes programs such as unemployment insurance, housing assistance and food aid — and health care. Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.

Oracle CEO Clayton Magouyrk said on an earnings call the company's model of having customers provide data chips for new data center builds is working. View More

In this articleORCLFollow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT watch nowVIDEO3:3203:32Oracle surges on Q3 results: What investors need to knowSquawk on the Street Oracle shares rose 9% on Wednesday after the company posted robust fiscal third-quarter earnings and assured analysts that the company does not plan to raise any additional debt in 2026 beyond what was already announced."Investing in AI infrastructure is capital-intensive, but our operating model is optimized to ensure profitability," CEO Clayton Magouyrk said on the company's earnings call Tuesday.The hyperscaler has drawn skepticism for the financing measures funding its data center construction. Last month, the company said it intends to raise up to $50 billion in 2026 with a combination of debt and equity, with no expectations to issue additional bonds.Magouyrk addressed the company's artificial intelligence infrastructure growth plans on the analyst call."We have signed more than $29 billion of contracts since then across multiple customers using that new model," Magouyrk said. "A combination of bring-your-own-hardware and up-front customer payments enables us to continue expanding without any negative cash flow from Oracle." Read more CNBC tech newsHow the Iran war and rising energy prices are threatening semiconductor demandKevin Mandia sold his cybersecurity company to Google in 2022. He has a fresh $190 million for a new ventureMusk's xAI wants to build a power plant in Mississippi. Regulators planned a key meeting on Election Day, 200 miles awayOracle is building yesterday's data centers with tomorrow's debt Magouyrk also noted that Oracle delivered 90% of 400 megawatt data centers on or ahead of schedule in the third quarter.Fears of an AI bubble have taken a toll on software stocks, including Oracle, which is down more than 50% from its all-time high in September and about 15% year to date.The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV) is down 18% so far in 2026.In cloud revenue for the third quarter, including infrastructure and software as a service, Oracle reported $8.9 billion, a 44% increase from last year.Wall Street was generally bullish on the stock after the call."Oracle's core AI and cloud numbers and backlog tell a very healthy and robust AI Revolution demand story," Wedbush's Dan Ives wrote in a note Tuesday. The senior equity research analyst added that the report will be viewed as a "huge relief for the software and tech sector." Stock Chart IconStock chart iconOracle one-year stock chart. Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.